Hearthstone: Journey Into the Cards
by NolerRobert
Summary: Hargoff just became a new Hearthstone player. However, when he gets cursed and enters the Hearthstone: World of Cards, he realizes what it feels like becoming cards. Accompanied by a mystery partner, will he escape?
1. Introduction

**Hey guys! This is my first Hearthstone story. So please R&R!**

The leather shoes made a crunching sound as it walked on pebbles. I had my head down, most probably because I was anxious what was going to happen next. My rough leather leggings and shirt ruffled in the wind.

My name is Hargoff. People refer to me as _Hargoff the Patient. _I had just finished my training in the _Hearthstone Elementary _and was now heading for the Warcraft Inn, the most famous inn in the world. Every few minutes, I had to walk faster when people scrutinized my every move. I trudged to the entrance of the inn before looking up. It was packed like sardines.

_Sweaty barbarians moved from one place to another._

_Buff ogres slammed their playing cards on the table._

_The innkeeper looked from left to right while sitting on wooden chairs._

I closed my eyes, breathed in and walked inside. Suddenly, everything was quiet. Everyone turned to stare at me. I blushed a little, and walked deeper into the inn, plopping down on a high chair in front of the well-dressed bartender. As soon as the bartender lifted his left eyebrow, everyone continued to what they were doing. A gnome began playing an awful tune on his instrument, a wooden stick with bells on it.

I felt relieved that no one was looking at me anymore. _By the Speak of the Devil._

"One match with the innkeeper, please. Mage class," I said, and at that moment, everyone turned to me again. A hooded man stood up, whom I presume was the innkeeper.

An elf half of my size went to him and whispered in my ear. "You are the first person to challenge the new innkeeper. Our old one was thrown out of the window and this is the replacement."

The hooded man walked towards a crowded table. Quickly, everyone there backed away. A small orange-haired gnome jumped down from his seat and offered it to the man. He then looked at me and glared. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat at the seat opposite of the hooded man.

There was a box in front of me. It was a well-painted wooden box with strange patterns on it. In the middle was a blue circle with a glowing blue spiral in the middle. The innkeeper pressed the circle, and I realized that he had green scaly fingers with long black fingernails. Right when he pressed it, the lid of the box exploded, and all there was left was a Hearthstone battlefield that everyone had expected.

The hooded man placed a card on the Hero's circle, and the card glowed and the corners came off, leaving an oval with an image of Jaina Proudmoore. I did the same and had the same hero. The hero power popped up at the right of the hero. The hero power costed 2 mana and it was the Fireball power; _Deal 1 damage._

The innkeeper started first. That was fine with me as I liked getting an extra card and _The Coin_ card. I received a _Wolfrider_ (3/1), _Arcane Intellect_ (Spell), a _Dalaran Mage_ (2/4) and an _Arcane Shot_ (Spell). I removed the _Dalaran Mage_ and got a _Stonetusk Boar_ (1/1).

The innkeeper ended his turn just when the game started. I summoned a _Stonetusk Boar_ for 1 mana and attacked the opposing hero. I ended the turn feeling satisfied. The innkeeper took a card from his deck. As soon as he looked at it, he smirked. He summoned two 0/2 minions with _Taunt_ with a_ Mirror Image_ card. He then used the other mana for a 1/1 _Goldshire Footman_.

I observed the way the scales on the innkeeper's fingers shake with delight whenever he summoned in a minion. Grabbing a card from my deck, I shifted a card from my hand to the other end of the box. The _Elven Archer_ did a small shriek of delight when it directed an arrow towards the _Goldshire Footman_, who died on the spot. Using the _Stonetusk Boar_, I attacked one of the two _Taunts_ for 1 damage.

Sweat dripped down from my neck. He ended his turn, wondering what he was going to do next. The innkeeper – I sensed him smirking – summoned in a _River Crocolisk_. The other mana was kept with him. Taking a card from my deck, I killed one Taunt minion with my _Stonetusk_, then dealt another damage to the other Taunt with my _Elven Archer_.

I was about to end my turn when I decided to use my special card.

"_Gain 1 Mana Crystal this turn_" I murmured to myself. Using that card, I summoned in a _Sen'jin Shieldmasta_.

"_Taz'dingo_! Heh heh heh…" the _Shieldmasta_ exclaimed with delight.

The innkeeper directed the _Crocolisk's _attack towards the _Shieldmasta_. _Sen'jin_ did an exclamation of pain when the _Crocolisk_ attacked him. He then took a card from his deck and remained silent as he stared at it.

Many seconds passed and the innkeeper was still reading the card. "Time's running out!" a spectator said as he watched a string in the middle of the battlefield catch fire. "Quickly!"

The innkeeper breathed out heavily. I knew he was frustrated. Suddenly, he reached for another card in his deck. The orange-haired gnome tapped the innkeeper's back and silently told him not to. The innkeeper hissed at the gnome, who backed away instantly.

"You are not allowed to do that."

A stranger walked beside the duo battling. He also had a hood on, with a white crystal necklace hung on his neck. His brown leather hood and iron armor shone. The innkeeper looked at him. Suddenly, time ran out for the innkeeper. He slammed the table and hissed. A long forked tongue came on of the hood as he hissed at me.

The stranger gently pushed the innkeeper back to his seat. Without notice, the clawed scaly hands of the innkeeper jabbed at the armor and the hissing grew as loud as ever. The stranger took two steps back and slowly pulled out his iron sword, hung on the side of his hips. Suddenly, the innkeeper banged his fist on the table and the battlefield on the Hearthstone board exploded.

I looked at the innkeeper, whose hood shifted back due to the explosion. A snake's head stared back at me. Gasps were heard throughout the room "_Arch-captain Uur'shaz!_" a voice shouted from the bedazzled crowd. The Heathstone box once again exploded, and cards flew in many directions. Looking back at Uur'shaz, I saw a few dozen cards swirling like a tornado around the snake. He hissed louder.

The stranger shifted his hood backwards, revealing an oval face. His spiky hair was not mistaken. Everyone gasped in awe at him. He shifted a hand at the snake and he was pummeled to the inn wall with great force. As he dropped to the floor, Uur'shaz grabbed a card slowly falling to the ground and pounced at the box. The man tried to stop him, but to no avail. The card was slammed against the box.

A cloud of smoke overshadowed the box. "_Hatz'uur dwyt. Fir'riish!_" the snake shouted, smiling. The man's eyes widened with terror. The cloud became bigger. The snake lifted his scaly hand once again, fingers rested. He suddenly lifted all his fingers until a palm faced the man and I. The cloud flew to us, _and darkness was all we saw._


	2. Travelling Through Cards

**Hey guys! If you enjoy my first story and want more, well, here it is! Sorry for the delay. Please, R&R!**

_The worlds spun in front of me. I felt nausea overcome me. Pixel by pixel floated through the air as my surroundings became dark. Hearthstone cards shifted back and forth while cackles could be heard through the air. Opening my eyes, I saw darkness. A wandering vision of a snake sizzled into the sky._

I woke up with a jolt. The sun bashed rays of heat onto my skin while birds chirped their beaks away. I dared not to stand up, particularly because the grass around me was smooth and leafy. It was like a bed. Finally, after a few seconds of regaining consciousness, I carefully stood up. Almost slipping as I stood up, it looked like I was drunk.

After finally standing up, I surveyed my surroundings. Trees, twigs and rocks scattered the terrain. I heard a groan, and I turned to my right. The man from before was sprawled onto the ground in a great heap. His blonde hair was flowing with the wind, and I immediately knew who he was. He had bright armor, most probably created by the best blacksmith in Warcraft.

Slowly limping to the person in silver, I examined his hand. It had a large laceration from the tip of his index finger and ended at the other end of the hand. I knew he needed help immediately. Picking up a giant wooden stick, I used it to carry myself up. I grabbed the tip of the stick. Without notice, I felt a tingle of sensation at my palm. My fingertips tingled with excitement for no reason at all. Suddenly, I felt strong.

Adrenaline surged through my body like never before. _What is this sorcery?_ I thought. Staring at my palm, I wondered what in the world had happened. I was no longer limping. The wooden stick fell to the ground and the tip touched the man. Paying no heed, I began feeling around my legs to see if anything had happened.

A hand touched my shoulder. Feeling startled, I tripped on a rock and fell to the ground, staring into the air. The man had found strength to stand up, somehow. His face seemed familiar. I was sure I saw him somewhere, far before the accident at the Inn. He reached out a hand for me to stand up. After rising, I muttered a quick _Thanks._

I knew I had seen this stranger somewhere. It was the look that hit me. He picked up the wooden stick from before. Magically, an orb of yellow light positioned on the tip of the stick. Surprised, my mouth hung open with awe. I stared at the little bubbles of magma bounce around in the orb.

"Thank you for saving me, although I did not give permission to handle with my staff," the man said with a rich accent. He slowly brushed out twigs which hung on his armor and squinted at the sky.

I looked closer at his face. He looked young, probably eighteen years old. However, his body was well-built like a thirty year old. He did not seem arrogant. Instead, he looked calm and kind.

"Do you know where we are?" he asked, finally turning his face at me. He flinched.

"No, unfortunately. Frankly, I don't even know what happened before."

The man looked up again. "We are in the World of Cards. Every Hearthstone card's being is inside here. Unfortunately, that ungrateful snake propelled us into this world."

I widened my eyes, not believing what I just heard. "Does that mean we have become cards?" The man nodded, still staring at the sky. "I have become my usual card, while you, my friend, have become a…"

"Minion?" I muttered out loud, picking grass out of my sleeves. The man stared at me, amazed. "Yes, a minion…" he began. He then looked at the sky again.

Finally, after brushing dirt out of our clothing, we shook hands. _"Hargoff,"_ I said, shaking his hand. _"My name is Wrynn. Anduin Wrynn," _the stranger replied.

I mentally smacked my forehead. _Of course! _I muttered. _Anduin Wrynn! _It all made sense now. The stick I held before was Anduin's staff. Since he was a priest, the staff healed him! _Now, _I thought. _Where is the mana that it used? _Anduin did not seem to notice my confusion. "There is an inn somewhere here. We should go there and have something to eat," Anduin said before wandering off in the direction of a forest.

I followed him closely. I did not know what lurks in the forest, and I did not want to find out. Minutes passed, and we were still walking in the same forest. The darkness was swallowing me. Finally, we reached a stream. Wrynn did not seem to notice it. Looking at the stream, I caught sight of a weird creature hopping from a rock onto a lily pad. It looked like a frog, but as I walked closer, I realized that it was a _Murloc_.

"Stop here, fine sir. We have reached a clearing." I stopped. Anduin held out his hand, the back facing my face. We stayed silent for quite a while.

A roar broke the silence. A few birds flew away, not wanting to be dinner.

"Are you sweating?" a sudden question by Anduin hit me smack in the face. "Yes," I admitted. "I must be nervous."

"You're not nervous," he explained, while he himself was perspiring. "It's actually heat. Something emitting heat must be near."

Well, that made sense. I had no adrenaline and my heart thumped in a normal rate. All of a sudden, a tree fell down. _"Timber!" _a shout was heard. It was a deep voice, one I did not like. Another roar filled the air. "Hide!" Anduin snapped, gently pushing me into a bush to hide. As I looked at Anduin, he took out a card from a pocket and he began to disappear, pixel by pixel.

I heard mighty stomping. Peeking out of my hiding place, I saw a troop of Orcs leading a mysterious beast that seemed familiar to me. The beast was made of magmatic lava, probably the thing that emitted heat. Suddenly, I realized that it was a _Core Hound._ Trees slowly caught fire.

I felt something tap my shoulder. My heart thumped wildly as I slowly turned around. To my surprise, it was Anduin. He whispered something into my ear. "Sounds like a plan," I muttered, and Wrynn smiled.

Picking a card from my pocket and examining it, I hurled it into the path of the orcs. Pixels which appeared out of the blue shone brightly and flew to the position of the card. Soon, a _Shieldmasta_ was created. _"Taz'dingo! Heh heh heh," _the _Sen'jin_ shrieked, smiling and showing his two front fangs.


	3. Announcement

**Hello, Readers!**

**I want to sort of tell you that I am planning to write a longer story. Starting short, I plan on typing 2 000 words this chapter. Sorry if there is any delay! And once again, R&R!**

"_Eh? _This puny _Shieldmasta?_" an orc grunted, then snorted loudly. The rest of the orcs began to snicker, their green skin glistening with sweat in the sunlight.

I felt furious. _Sen'jin _was one of my favorite cards and yet, the orcs pretended that it was nothing. I felt rage as heat intensified my face. Anduin laid a hand on my shoulder, for keeping me calm and also to tell me he was trying to do something. Standing up, Anduin declared something in a deep, yet loud and melodious voice. _"I call upon Stormwind, mighty champion of the 2__nd__ Tier Inn!" _

He shifted a hand from his pocket to pick up a card, then hurling it to the ground in front of the orcs. _"Feel the wrath of Stormwind!"_ a call was heard from above. The orcs had feelings of shock written on the lines of their faces. _Stormwind _fell to the ground from the sky, landing smoothly on the gravel path. _"Taz'dingo!" _the _Sen'jin _said, hurling itself to the orcs. He drew blood from one of the orcs, who fell motionless to the floor.

"_Hargoff!" _a sudden shout made me jump. Wrynn asked me if I had the _Unleash the Hounds_ card, which I did. Summoning it in, I witnessed the effects with great satisfaction. Two bulldogs raced from out of the blue, ambushing two orcs who were shielding their eyes from the glistening armor of _Stormwind._ The champion sprang up and landed foot first on the last orc standing. _"Vur'datscha Heildas gha,"_ he said in a foreign language before unleashing a mighty blow on the chest of the orc.

"What did it mean?" I asked the champion as we were examining the site. _"May Hell be with you,"_ he said in the knight mask, then looked up. I wondered why everybody looked up from one point to another. Looking at Anduin, he too was looking up. "It's an old phrase, saying that. It was used to weaken witches, paladins and priests. Demons, devils and dragons, however, were thought to have grown stronger when hearing that."

I was amazed. I had never thought _Hearthstone_ would be like this. _But was it?_ I thought. _What was the life I had before?_ I remembered my childhood life. Cutting rectangular cardboard shapes, drawing on them in chalk. I did not have a rich life, nor did I have a poor one. I remembered hacking wood with a piece of stone, before secretly entering a lumberjack's home and snitching a few small planks. I made myself my own _Hearthstone_ board to play with my siblings.

_Siblings. _Have I had any? If I did, where were they? It all came flooding into my memories. I watched in horror as a vision dominated reality. Screams were heard throughout the village. I remember seeing red; my house combusted. Everything I loved – my family, my toys – all gone. Remembering that memory, I felt something damp in my eyes. I remembered before the combustion, my mother placed me in a cart and pushed it away, in hopes of me being safe.

_War._ I remembered orc by orc invading house by house, rummaging through things and burning wood down. I heard the cackle of an orc at the back of my head. All of a sudden, something drew blood. I watched in horror as an orc sliced a blade through my mother. _"Ma!"_ I heard myself screaming.

I swirled back to reality. My tears were about to fall until I forced it back in. I was young back then, until my house went up in flames. _"Hargoff,_ we're here." Anduin placed a hand on the entrance, then pushed it forward. I found myself in a small wooden inn, packed to the brim. Multiple gnomes sauntered here and there, demons spat fire as they talked. An orc was silently playing a game of _Hearthstone._

"Why are there orcs and demons here?" I burst out a question softly. Anduin hesitated. "The orcs we fought earlier were Invaders. These here are not," he replied, not looking away. We promenaded towards a table, which a few familiar faces sat. _"Yur'jan. _Finally, Anduin. You're here," a person with bulky gold armor said, a pinch of British accent here and there.

"Hargoff, you know Uther, right?" Anduin said while pointing with his hand at the person who had addressed him. Suddenly, the whole inn became silent. All eyes were fixed on me. I hesitated, before looking around the room. Looks of shock and disgust filled their faces. _"Invader!"_ people screamed, hurling utensils in the air and shivered in a corner.

Some people tried to defend the others by standing beside me, weapons out and told me kindly (but rudely) to leave. A voice drowned the people's screams. _"Stop it!"_ Everyone turned to look at Anduin, who was standing on a chair. "This is _Hargoff. _He may be an Invader, but he is not deadly, nor is he bad hearted like the rest."

All eyes were on me again. I hated attention. This was like what had happened a couple of minutes before I was forced into this world. Turning my attention to those behind me, I realized that the Heroes behind me did not seem to care that I was an Invader. In fact, I did not even _know_ what an Invader is. Soon, I got my answer. Anduin, using the same accent he had before, told me that Invaders were people that entered the Card World just for the sake of becoming cards in the real world.

"The orcs out there were Invaders. They entered from the Real World to the World of Cards, just to become cards and enslave us. We are cards that were here before, called the Naxxramas. Unfortunately, since the Invaders did not have abilities before, we are unsure if their abilities are far more deadly than ours," Wrynn said, sipping on a giant wooden cup of alcohol.

A well built orc with dark-peach skin offered me a glass of alcohol, and I kindly declined. He had armor of stone and bones. I presumed he was Garrosh Hellscream. "I'm a teetotaler, a person who does not drink wine," I explained, smiling.

"'Teetotaler' is a fancy word to use, for a young man your age. Where do you come from?" an orc in a dark hood asked. I looked at Thrall, the Hero with the long braid. "I come from Mel-uurd village, an old village that burned to its death many years ago. Now, it is a place of rubble and no longer a town."

"I feel sorry for you," a blonde and tall woman said, but when I looked at her eyes, she did not seem to care as she was not looking at me. She was busy fidgeting with a stick and holding a cup with her other hand. Her white armor and her rather pretty face seemed to attract some people from the other side of the inn.

"Jaina is expressionless, boy. Don't bother disturbing her," another orc with dark skin said. Jaina immediately glared at him. He had a dark hood and a glowing skull in his hand. He had enormous shoulder-pads and some bony tusks behind his back. He pushed the wooden chair he was sitting on backwards until the two front legs were in mid-air. I knew he was Gul'dan.

I swerved my attention to two silent heroes, one of which had horns like reindeers'. He was a purple orc with glowing green hair and armor. Sitting next to him was a female with stunning red armor and a glowing green sword in her belt. I knew these two were Malfurion and Valeera. The inn continued to its bustling ways. I looked around the inn and found two recognizable faces. A wolf with armor and a gnome with white hair and bright clothing sat next to each other. The Hogger and Millhouse Manastorm.

The werewolf snarled and turned its evil eyes. His eyes seemed to drill into mine. I suddenly realized that I was staring at him. I looked away quickly, feeling and hearing my heart protrude out of my chest every second. I jumped when a pair of paws slammed my table. I dared not to turn to my right, where the wolf was snarling and drooling at my face. I caught sight of his armor at the corner of my eye. He lowered his snout to my ear. "Did you have fun defeating me?"

Sweat covered my forehead. I choked on my saliva, feeling adrenaline surge through each vein. The inn quieted down, and I knew that they were looking at me. All of a sudden, a dart flew through the air and stuck onto the wooden wall with a sickening thud, then the sound of shaking metal. Hogger howled and cursed, glaring at a shadowed figure at the other side of the inn.

_Manastorm._ He was making a few darts float over his palm as he swirled his fingers. His white hair and beard was recognizable. His blue wizard costume made him look even smaller than what he really was. _Childish bastard, _I thought. He then looked at me and his eyebrow lowered into a glare. I realized that I said it out loud.

The inn went silent for a moment. A huge bang was heard soon after. I flinched, burrowing my lips into my mouth. I pushed my attention to another orc, his green skin hidden beneath his armor. _Wolfrider. _He had a fist on the table in front of him. He was alone at the table, except for the dark brown wood of the walls silently accompanying him.

The inn doors burst open and in came in yet another familiar face. His fur helmet and his stone shoulder-pad covered his well-built light-brown skin. He was bleeding at the laceration on his arm. He grunted as he turned to _Wolfrider_, who became silent. He muttered a swear as he plopped down next to Anduin. "Invading _bitches._ No pity for a God-damn _Murloc."_

"_Rexxar. _You don't have pity for a mosquito," Jaina muttered aloud, who snickered and continued leaning against the wall with her chair. She waved the stick around in a circle, then furiously slammed it onto the table. There was a slam and the stick exploded silently into a green combustion.

I did not listen to the argument after that. The innkeeper was standing at the corner of the inn, wearing a dark brown leather robe. His hood covered his face. The butler seemed to be serving a _Taz'dingo _and a _Shieldmasta_ their tenth swig of beer. The spruce wood inn had pictures of different orcs here and there; one of them was a _Raid Leader._

The inn continued bustling. It was approximately night time. The heroes were talking louder now, slamming their cups and cheering. I recognized the symptom. They were drunk. Of course, they were taking many swigs of alcohol. My eyelids felt heavy. I closed my eyes for a second, folding my arms to my chest. I fell asleep in a second.

The sound of breaking glass jolted me from my sleep. It was an alcohol bottle. In front of me, the heroes were unconscious. They rested their head on the table and Jaina was leaning her head and chair against the wall. The sound of glass came from Anduin's alcohol bottle. It fell to the floor and broke into a thousand pieces. I figured that it was daytime as sunlight shone through the entrance of the inn.

The door opened. In came a panting a hooded man, although his orange beard was visible. His eyes glowed in the shadows. At that moment, the heroes woke up. The hooded man was the _Ironforge Rifleman._ "It's the invaders," he said, his voice shaking. I saw the terror in his eyes. "They declared war."


End file.
